River spent over 20 years as a trial attorney and lobbyist who owned her own law office by the courthouse.  She recently walked away at the height of her career to fulfill her mission to support healthy sexuality and relationship.

I do what I do because I don't want you to get stuck in the situation I was in.  As an attorney, I was taught to fight, divide and separate.  I looked successful on the outside, but didn't have a reason to get out of bed.  Nothing sounded fun anymore ... until I opened up to my authentic sexual expression.

After realizing the purpose of life is to love, connect and unite, I could no longer fight.  I had to invest my life in love.

Your sexuality is natural and wants to be expressed in a healthy way.   And I'm ready to support you through your major life-changing ecstatic transformation.  

I now co-organize a meetup that has over 2000 members and I've helped people in the most desperate situations succeed in their love lives.  I can help you reach your most amazing potential in sex, intimacy and loving connection.  I can help you become the teacher for your future loves.

Short professional bio on press page

tell me more

I was raised in the Texas desert, flew out of the nest to Austin as soon as I could fly, and lived in San Francisco before returning to Austin to build my own nest.  I had almost no information about healthy sex or intimate relationship before I started doing them myself.

I haven’t just read about sexual freedom.  I’ve explored every sexual fantasy.  I’ve stood on mountaintops and fallen into black holes.  I’ve heard we can’t have an intimate relationship that includes both excitement and safety, and I don’t believe it.  

I am a lover of evolution.  I’m a cushion sitting, yoga and jogging enthusiast.  I love sitting in hot springs in the mountains and riding my motorcycle.  I set an intention to live every aspect of my life in integrity and I have been on that journey ever since.

For years, I have served clients as a professionally certified surrogate partner, clients who felt they might not ever be able to have a successful intimate relationship.  I have watched as they have succeeded beyond all expectations.

Nothing makes me happier than to behold a sexual awakening.  I believe that when all of us shed guilt, shame and judgment around our sexuality, all of the problems of the world will be solved because we will no longer desire to harm one another.

My long term professional goal is:  

The next client who hires me will have a major life-changing transformation.

all the juicy details

I've had the honor of sitting with so many masterful teachers.  I trained with each one named here in person unless noted.  If any wisdom has been gleaned, I bring it all to my time with you.

SURROGATE PARTNER TRAINING

I am one of the first surrogate partners certified by the Institute for Mind Body Therapy, trained by two legends in the field: Dr. Tova Feder, author of Sex is the Least of It and others, and Dr. Susan Kaye, who worked directly with surrogate partner program creators Masters and Johnson.  I am listed on the Institute for Mind Body Therapy site and on the Sex Surrogacy site.

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Dr. Susan Kaye - surrogate partner training program, ongoing mentor
• Dr. Tova Feder - surrogate partner training program
• Barbara Keesling - Sexual Healing book and personal conversations

WHEEL OF CONSENT / SCHOOL OF CONSENT

The Wheel of Consent, developed by Betty Martin, may be the most profound teaching related to touch in our time.  I am honored to sit on the leadership team of the new School of Consent, as an Advisor, assisting in the development of the school.  I am also a certified Wheel of Consent Practitioner and Workshop Facilitator.

MAIN TEACHER:

• Betty Martin - like a pro training in 2012 and 2017; Ethical Practices: Containers, Conversations and Assessment Protocols for Somatic Sex Educators and other Sex Workers; Teaching the Wheel; Wheel of Consent Workshop Facilitator Training; ongoing supervision.

CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING COACH TRAINING

I am a professionally certified Conscious Uncoupling coach, trained and certified by New York Times best selling author and creator, Katherine Woodward Thomas, MA, MFT.  I engage in ongoing supervision by Katherine Woodward Thomas.

TANTRA

Tantra is arguably the oldest form of worship known to humankind.  I enjoy playing with western techniques, and am a professionally certified TantraNova practitioner and teacher.  At the same time, my deepest journeys have been with eastern teachings. 

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Swami Satyananda Saraswati (books and videos) - kundalini tantra (my tantra yoga guru since 2011)  Swami Satyananda Saraswati took mahasamadhi in 2009, before I knew who he was.  If I could have dinner with any one person, it would be Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
• Swami Yoga Kanti  - the Satyananda kriyas and tattwa shuddhi at Rikhiapeeth Ashram in India
• Swami Shakti Murti - the Satyananda kriyas and tattwa shuddhi at Rikhiapeeth Ashram in India
• 5-Day Shiva Yagna - Rikhiapeeth Ashram in India
• Kalpana - personal training in Satyananda yoga
• Navvaratri - Satyananda yoga
• Swami Satyadharma - Satyananda yoga
• Freddy Zental - personal intensive, TantraNova teacher certification
• Elsbeth Meuth - personal intensive, TantraNova teacher certification
• Rod Stryker - tantra intensive conference
• Alex Jade - body electric school tantra workshop
• Jay Craver - body electric school tantra workshop
• Everitt Allen - singing bowl yoga
• Siri Bahadur - gong bath yoga
• Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche - tsa lung, 9 breaths of purification
   

KINK

The kink community provided safe space for me to express my deepest desires and passions, which lead me to open in all areas of my life. I am eternally grateful to all who teach and contribute to this vibrant community.  Midori is my single greatest teacher in this universe.

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Midori - forte femme women's sensual dominance weekend intensive, passionate bonds weekend workshop, interrogations, predicaments, rope challenge
• Laura Antoniou - passionate bonds weekend workshop
• Mark Yu - energy and kink
• Lochai - rope and bondage
• Fakir Musafar - sacred hook pull
• Cleo DuBois - sacred hook pull
• Arielle Webb - jealousy, self after care
• Slave Tomo - hojojitsu
• Topologist - takate kote
• John Baku - fetlife purpose and history
• Lizard - rope
• Ruby Rider - pegging
• Kinky College
• Joules McKnuckles
• too many individual classes to name
   

TOLTEC

I think of Toltec as Mexican tantra.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to apprentice with two of the greatest teachers: HeatherAsh Amara and Raven Smith.  We are the Eagle Knight lineage of Toltec which was brought into modern times by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of the Four Agreements and teacher to HeatherAsh and Raven. I served on the board of directors for the Toltec Center of Creative Intent, the only Toltec church in the US.

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• HeatherAsh Amara - four years in official apprenticeship, fire walking and similar practices, sacred time management, conscious relationship, sexual integrity, dream circles, inner fire training, too many individual teachings to name
• Raven Smith - two years in official apprenticeship, deepening retreat, toltec cosmology & tools, too many individual teachings to name
• Jai Cross - two shamanic journey courses (online), too many in-person teachings to name
• Amy Zielinski - manifesting well-being (online), deepening retreat
• Laura Toups - deepening retreat
• Arielle Webb (Critter) - recapitulation, jealousy and other classes

PERFORMANCE ART

Burlesque gets me excited about communicating without words.  My stage name is Tsunami and here are my performances to date:

• November 17, 2013 - Tsunami in Cosmic Gimp at Brass Ovaries' student recital
• March 21, 2014 - Tsunami in Superhero in the Spring Fever show at the North Door
• April 19, 2014 - Tsunami in shibari suspension by Charm, with Nikki, at Amour Fetish Party
• July 26, 2014 - Tsunami & Grace in Dandini at Brass Ovaries' summer show
• March 27, 2015 - Tsunami & Grace in Lady of the Lake in the show Nymphs of Avalon at the Marchesa

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Ms. Sophie - two erotic performance courses
• Danae Paskero - pole-certification level 1 and 2, personal training
• Arabella Kali Ma - dance of the immortaless
• Arielle Webb - sacred striptease and lapdance
• Michelle Shimmy - the shimmy
• Cleo DuBois - sacred eros performance
• Bo Eason - one person show training
• Zein Al-Jundi - Syrian/Egyptian bellydance
• Hossam and Serena Ramsy - Cairo bellydance and beat
• Coco Lectric - burlesque
   

YOGA ASANA

I am a Yoga Illumined yoga teacher training graduate.  Asana is one part of yoga.  It is simply the part practiced on the mat.

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Zoe Mantarakis - yoga illumined teacher training, which includes hatha yoga, mantra and meditation inspired by yoga-vedanta, the yoga sutras of patanjali and the teachings of shri brahmananda saraswati, ramamurti s. mishra; and too many individual classes with Zoe to count
• Sumukhi - yoga illumined teacher training, which includes hatha yoga, mantra and meditation inspired by yoga-vedanta, the yoga sutras of patanjali and the teachings of shri brahmananda saraswati, ramamurti s. mishra
• Shiva Rea - tantra asana
• Baron Baptiste - Baptiste intensive retreat
• Bhagat Singh (Chrispy) - asana
• Ann Hyde - Forrest yoga
• Ricky Tran - sanskrit and asana
• Lauren Zinn Buck - creative asana
• Fumiko Takatsu - face yoga (online)
• and too many individual classes to name
   

ANIMAL ENERGY

Animal energy gifted me with a profound new understanding of energy, which I use daily with my canine as well as my fellow human animals!

MAIN TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS:

• Cesar Millan (videos and books) - pack leadership, energetic communication
• Kim Kelly - canine training
• Tara Stermer - canine aggression and translation
• Asia Voight - shamanic animal communication    

NUTRITION

Every bite we take is either alive or dead and I love eating foods that are alive.  My diet is mostly raw vegan.  I have been vegetarian for 28 years and 98% vegan for 12 years.

MAIN TEACHER AND TEACHING:

• Gabriel Cousins (books and audio only) - Conscious Eating is my food bible
• Dr. Raphael Kellman (online only) - Microbiome Summit
• James Maskell (online only) - Evolution of Medicine
• Epigenetics Summit (online)
• Heavy Metals Detox Summit (online)
• Dirty Genes Summit (online)
• Parasite Summit (online)
• Holistic Oral Health Summit (online)
   

OTHER BIG STOPS ALONG THE WAY

In addition to the above, many teachers have influenced me in lasting ways such as:

• Sheelo (apprentice of Stan Grof) - psychedelic psychotherapy, holotropic breathwork
• Deborah Sundahl - G spot and female ejaculation workshop
• Debra Haffner - sexual education for children
• Teri Ciacchi - priestess at two Aphrodite Temple retreats
• Charla Hathaway - various aspects of tantra and touch
• Bart Whittington - pelvic floor massage
• Arabella Kali Ma - radical radiance
• Drea Marz - orgasmic meditation coach
• Wim Hof - autonomic nervous system training
• Rachel Cherwitz - orgasmic meditation workshop
• Keith Paolino - orgasmic meditation workshop
• Nicole Daedone - one taste origins
• Shane Melear - body and energy healing
• Byron Katie - new year cleanse weekend workshop
• Dr. Christiane Northrup - ageless guru (online learning)
• Robert Evans - platform
• Matt Thomas - branding and platform
• Randy Davila - getting published
• Matt Sonzala - podcast production
• Brandon Burchard - Next Bold Move (online learning)
• Pedram Shojai - Urban Monk Academy (online learning)
• Diane Samsel - Voice Dialogue
• Liana Chaouli - image therapy, completed her courses Live Your Life in STYLE and Virtual Style Academy (online learning with some 1-on-1 coaching)
• Healing Trauma Summit by SoundsTrue (online) including:  Peter Levine, Judith Blackstone, Sandra Ingerman, Edward Tick, David Grand, Laurel Parnell, Linda Graham, Mark Epstein, Pat Ogden, Bonnie Badenoch, Richard C. Miller, Richard Schwartz, David Emerson, Gabor Mate, Edith Eger, Diane Poole Heller, Dawson Church, Rick Doblin, Stephen W. Porges

Previous Life

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, I spent a year as a slacker and then headed to law school where I earned a Doctorate of Jurisprudence at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  Opening my own law office straight out of law school, I built a thriving trial practice by the courthouse that lasted 21 years, specializing in high conflict divorce and custody cases.  

For most of that time I was a tireless political activist, becoming a professional lobbyist and community organizer for social justice causes and helping to change a variety of laws within the criminal justice system.  I co-founded the Sunshine Project for Police Accountability, was president of the local ACLU for years,  ACLU national snitch accountability campaign coordinator, and sat on these boards:  Texas Table, East Austin Leadership Development, Texans Together Education Fund, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable, ACLU of Texas and the City of Austin Police Oversight Focus Group.  I was co-founder and owner of the hip hop and politics website Southern Shift, and coordinated the 2008 independent Obama campaign Texas Stand Up.  I was a finalist for the city-manager-hired position of Austin Police Monitor who lead the Police Civilian Oversight Board in Austin.

And then I grew tired of fighting and decided it was time to start loving.